THE PW MODELPART 2 DEVELOPMENTOnce you have created a logically consistent organization structure foryour paper following the four principles in Part 1, your next major task isto develop or support your logical structure.Development can be broken down into two major components: 1) anybackground facts or information necessary for the reader to understandthe supporting arguments; 2) the specific examples or evidencenecessary to prove each supporting argument. (2) is the most important,for the shape of the argument is determined by the evidence that isavailable. The "facts" determine what can or cannot be proven. But a"fact" is meaningless outside the context of an argument. It onlybecomes "evidence" when it is used in an argument. And that is thereason we always begin with organization, with an argument structure.BACKGROUNDBackground information is not a formal part of the argument itself. Itconsists of the facts and/or assumptions that your are asking the readershare with you. Background establishes a common ground that makes theargument possible. There are two kinds of background sections in atypical argumentative essay.A. Any factual information or other material that is logically necessaryfor the reader to understand each one of the supportingarguments should be placed in a separate paragraph or paragraphsbetween the introduction and the first argument. This backgroundinformation should remain objective and neutral. You should notattempt to “argue” your case or show bias in these sections. Itfollows that the topic sentences of these background paragraphsmust be clearly distinct from the topic sentences of your argumentparagraphs.2 B. Any factual information or other material that is necessary for thereader to understand an individual supporting argument shouldbe placed at the beginning of the argument in question. Although itmay be difficult, this background information should also bepresented in a neutral and objective manner.3EVIDENCEEvidence consists of the specific examples and other facts that you willuse to prove or match with your supporting arguments as they are statedin the topic sentences of your argument paragraphs. The examples youuse to support your individual arguments should be neither too generalnor too specific. This is a large part of what is meant by “matching.” Theexamples must match your arguments just as your arguments shouldmatch your thesis statement. (This point will be explained at length in ourCT model.)What counts as “good evidence” is usually dependent upon what youraudience or reader will accept. In "real life," there is no one singlecriterion for good evidence. The main purpose of evidence is to persuadesomeone who is not you to accept specific ideas and beliefs that you hold(your supporting arguments and thesis statement), even when they maynot want to. (See our CT model for a further discussion of evidence.)Here are several rules of thumb you might consider.A. In general, you should have at least two separate examples for eachargument. One example is never sufficient to prove a point. B. The examples must be such that if the reader accepts your examplesthen he or she should accept your argument. In other words, they mustmatch your arguments. C. The best examples are objective facts that can be independently verifiedby your reader. The least effective are personal opinions and judgmentsthat you and only you can account for. D. However, personal experiences can often be considered to be "good"evidence if they are described in sufficient detail, if they clearly match thearguments they are intended to support and if they not presented in anarrow or biased fashion. However, the audience and context will usuallydetermine what kinds of personal experiences are appropriate. E. In presenting your examples, you must explain how they support orotherwise relate to your arguments. You cannot simply list them and4assume that the reader will see the connections that you intend. This is acritical point.F. Stating what you believe to be true is not the same as presenting"factual" evidence. In other words, it is absolutely essential for you todistinguish between a fact and an opinion. Just because you believesomething is true does not make it true for your reader. You must baseyour arguments on what your reader will accept as "fact." It is for thisreason that outside sources and acknowledged authorities are often usedas evidence in effective
View Full Document
Unlocking...